Meet the LSU Rookies!!

Welcome back gridirongirls! Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I just got caught up with school work and illness, but I’m back and ready to fill your minds and hearts with more LSU football! So lets get started, shall we?
I promised you I would introduce you to the rookies that have signed on to play with LSU this coming fall, so I intend to keep that promise. This post is going to be a little more interactive however. After reading a quick breakdown of the positions of the rookies, leave me a comment on which position you think is the most important to the offense and which position is most important to the defense!
OK, now on to the good stuff-meeting the rookies! This year’s National Signing day brought 28 amazing athletes to LSU’s 2013 football team. Here’s a little break down of who signed, what position they play and the high school they come from. These are all factors that are considered when being drafted to play for LSU. Those factors along with skill set and years of experience will determine whether or not an athlete is compatible for LSU, and if they will be the extra skill needed to advance the tigers to a winning season.
Defensive tackles are responsible for making sure that the running back cannot run straight up the field. If the tackle is filling the gaps, the running back will have to run the long way to get around, and is more likely to get taken down before getting far. Tackles are also responsible for pushing centers and guards backwards to remove the “pocket” the quarterback will want to hide in to avoid getting hit by other defensive players. If the tackle pushes the guards and centers back the pocket is gone and the defense has a better shot at tackling the QB.

Rookie Tackles:

Maquedius Bain from University High School in Florida.

Greg Gilmore from South View High School in North Carolina.

Defensive Backs are the players on the defense who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of scrimmage and can be broken down into a few different position titles including safety, half-back and corner back.

Rookie Defensive Backs:

Jeryl Brazil from Loranger High School in Louisiana, to play cornerback.

Rickey Jefferson from Destrehan High School in Louisiana to play cornerback.

Rashard Robinson from Blanche Ely High School in Florida to play cornerback.

Tre’Davious White from Green Oaks High School in Louisiana to play cornerback.

Defensive Ends have a relatively simple job. In a running play, they are there to keep the running backs from getting out into the open field. This means blocking the running back so that he has to stay inside the group of defensive and offensive players get slowed down. During a passing play, the DE’s job is to get to the quarterback as fast as possible to prevent a throw, or to at least make the throw a bad one by tackling the QB.

Rookie Defensive Ends:Tashawn Bower from Immaculata High School in New Jersey to play weak-side defensive end.

Frank Herron from Central High School in Tennessee to play strong-side defensive end.

Christian LaCouture from Lincoln Southwest High School in Nebraska to play strong-side defensive end.

Lewis Neal from Hunt High School in North Carolina to play weak-side defensive end.

Michael Patterson from WinnField Senior High School in Louisiana to play weak-side defensive end.Tight Ends are the hybrid position of football, a cross between receiver and lineman. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are big enough in size to be an effective blocker. On the other hand, they are eligible receivers skilled enough to warrant a defense’s attention when running pass patterns.

Rookie Tight Ends:

DeSean Smith from Barbe High School in Louisiana

Logan Stokes from Northeast Mississippi C.C. High School in Mississippi.
A Wide Receiver’s job is to catch passes from the quarterback. This year LSU has 4 rookie wide receivers joining the team.

Rookie Recievers:

Kevin Spears from Holy Cross High School in Louisiana

Avery Johnson from Blanche Ely High School in Florida.

John Diarse from Neville High School in Louisiana.

Quantavious Leslie from Callaway High School in Georgia.
When you see the title of a player’s position listed as ATH this basically means they play well at multiple different positions. LSU only recruited one ATH player- Kendell Beckwith from East Feliciana High School in Louisiana.
The Offensive Line’s job is to create spaces or “gaps” for the receivers and running backs to run through with the ball, or to catch the ball. They also protect these players from the defense, creating more time and space for them to move. LSU recruited 4 new offensive linemen.

Rookie Offensive Linemen:

Josh Boutte from Westgate High School in Louisiana to play offensive guard.

Andy Dodd from Pepperell High School in Georgia to play
offensive guard.

Ethan Pocic from Lemont High School in Illinois to play offensive tackle.

KJ Malone from Cedar Creek High School in Louisiana to play offensive guard.Linebackers are broken into 3 parts: middle linebacker, strong-side linebacker and weak-side linebacker. The middle linebacker is the QB of the defense and he makes sure the defensive line is lined up right, and everyone knows what play to run. The strong-side linebacker cuts off running backs and pushes anyone from the offense away from their endzone and away from catching the ball or making plays. The weak-side linebacker is faster than the other 2 linebackers, and a tad bit smaller. His job is to watch for any receivers or running backs that make it to his side and to contain them.

Rookie Linebackers:

Melvin Jones from Washington-Marion High School in Louisiana to play inside linebacker

Duke Riley from John Curtis High School in Louisiana to play outside linebacker.
Last but not least are LSU’s new Quarterbacks, whose job is to command the offense, catch the ball tossed to him by the Center, make throws or passes or to run the ball himself. His goal is to get points for his team. The 2 newest quarterbacks for LSU are:

Anthony Jennings from Marietta High School in Georgia and Hayden Rettig from Cathedral High School in California.
That wraps up the rookie break down so keep your eyes open for those names on the field in the seasons to come. Don’t forget to comment on which positions you think are the most important and why! And as always remember to keep loving purple and living gold. I’ll catch you again soon, GEAUX TIGERS!